Modern cycling is built to overcome barriers, breaking speed and climbing records like never before in the long history of this legendary sport. That’s no revelation, but it’s always fascinating to see the evidence in the numbers. Advances in equipment, training methods, and nutrition are pushing athletes to ever higher levels, reaching performances that would have seemed unimaginable only a few years ago.
The climb to the Colle di Superga (4.1 km at 9.2%) is the perfect example to understand just how much faster riders are going. At Milano–Torino, almost every top rider of the last twenty years has tackled it, whether winning the race or fighting for a podium. And the climbing times tell a clear story: from 2012, when the race returned to the Superga finish, through to 2025, the pace has steadily increased.
Of course, ascent times should always be taken with a pinch of caution, as they are measured manually. But Superga is one of the easiest climbs to track, thanks to its clearly defined start and finish, and tools like Strava help refine the calculations. Weather conditions – especially rain and wind – can influence performance, but the Milano–Torino course with the Superga finale has remained largely unchanged, making it a reliable benchmark.
Superga, the record by Isaac Del Toro
Isaac Del Toro, winner of the 2025 edition, set a new climbing record with a time of 11’28”, beating the previous best of 11’47” shared by Primož Roglič (2021) and Thibaut Pinot (2018). The Mexican outsprinted Ben Tulett and Tobias Halland Johannessen at the top, and both of them also dipped under the old benchmark.
When a champion like Alberto Contador won the race in 2012, he climbed Superga in 11’52”, while Vincenzo Nibali – when he won the Italian national title on the climb in 2015, albeit on a longer course – recorded 13’07”. The impression is clear: while a few years ago the key times hovered around twelve minutes, today they are edging closer and closer to eleven. On Wednesday, 18 March, we’ll have another fascinating test.
